L.R. Starr is a lover of mysteries, witty dialogue, suspense, romance, and fantasy. If you like to travel through your books strap in for the ride she’ll take you across the country.
When she’s not I’m writing she’s usually exploring, and coming up with yet another devious plot or pursuing her other love which is painting and drawing. Enjoy the bedlam friends!
How would you feel when the man you have known and loved for the last five years is not who he said he was? That everything he ever told you was all a lie.
An accident changed our lives forever and now I have to bring him back to us because he doesn’t remember our life, our family or us. One minute, I was just a regular girl from India married to a man she loved, and the next, my life has changed completely because I’m married to an English Duke, who doesn’t remember me.
My name is Aaliya Singh Talbot and I will do whatever it takes to bring my husband back from the darkness and into the light.
I will make him remember no matter what I have to do!
I will make him remember everything – beneath all the lies!
In a heartbeat, I know it’s me. I jerk awake and sit upright on my bed, my heart roaring against my ribcage. My hand trembles as I push my long hair back from my damp forehead. He can’t be dead; this was just a dream! I chant that thought while taking huge calming breaths. This is the third time this week I’ve woken up like this, feeling like he’s gone. The fact that I’ve lost all touch with him screams inside me that something is drastically wrong else he’d never be silent for this long; his phone would never be switched off like it has been this last week. I shut my eyes, anxiety weighing me down. How long should I convince myself there is a reason for his silence?
I grab the photo frame from my bedside table. It is a picture of Damien and I from our honeymoon. His arm is around me and both of us are smiling into the camera, the waves of the Indian Ocean crashing behind us.
I run a finger along his face, tracing that bearded jaw, visualizing him in my mind’s eye. Those striking grey-green eyes that sparkle whenever they rest on me, that heart-stopping smile that almost always makes me melt. I miss him! I miss being tucked under his chin when he hugs me. I miss his scent and I miss how his strong arms and tall frame wrap around me when we sleep, making me feel protected and cherished. This is the first time we’ve been separated for so long and perhaps that’s what is making me anxious. I shake my head. No, something is wrong. I can sense it.
God! Please let him be safe, I pray.
Love is a strange yet powerful emotion that hit me when I least expected it and swept me off my feet without me even knowing it. And now, five years later, it is the faith I have in that love that makes me believe he would never leave me without contact—unless he was in trouble.
Fear for him slithers like a poisonous snake across my veins but I have to tamper it down because I have one more reason to remain sane, to stay anchored to the belief that Damien will be fine, no matter what. I breathe in deep, letting the familiar hum of the air conditioner soothe my nerves before I slide off the bed. My feet hit the cold marble floor and I head to the other bedroom where I tip toe inside.
My darling little boy—an angel with his mouth open and a tiny hand clutching his rather overlong hair—is sleeping in his cot. A small smile skates across my lips and my heart warms as I stare at him for a moment before lifting him carefully and putting him on my shoulder. He wriggles for a moment but soon relaxes in my arms, his nose digging into the side of my neck. I inhale his soft, sweet fragrance, and shut my eyes for a few seconds. Rian is ten months old and the love of our lives. Reluctant to let go of him, I hold him for a second longer before I gently tuck him back in his cot and caress his beloved face, so similar to his father.
My cell phone rings and I run to my room, glancing at the clock that shows that it’s three in the morning. I pray fervently that it’s finally him calling. Please God, let that be my husband!
I lift the cell, scanning the caller id and my shoulders slump.
“Gabriel!” I breathe into the phone. “Where is Damien? It’s been a week since I heard from him. One whole week with his phone switched off and you giving me a different excuse each time I call. I’m scared, Gabe. You can’t even begin to imagine the thoughts running through my mind.”
His silence only fuels my fear.
“Gabe, please,” I plead. “Where is he?”
“Aaliya, he…he’s been in a car accident!”
“No! God, no!” I shudder. “Is he-”
I swallow against the pain in my throat and try again, because I need to know. “Is he fine? Please tell me he’s alive!”
“Aaliya, he’s fine. He was in a coma for a week. He’s just woken up now.”
“One week!” I gasp out. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Tears burn my eyes, threatening to spill over. “His trip to London was planned for two days not ten, Gabe. I’ve lived in terror this last week ever since I lost contact with him. You knew how worried I was and yet you fed me with one excuse after the other. How could you keep his accident from me? I deserved to know, Gabe.”
“Aaliya…”
“Don’t you dare try and placate me!” I yell, unable to hold it back any longer. “You should’ve called me the minute he was admitted to the hospital.”
“Aaliya, I’m sorry. I truly am!” His voice comes out broken. “This is hard for me too. I didn’t tell you because he told me to look after you and Rian first if anything happened to him. I never imagined that he’d meet with an accident so soon after. You may not understand this now, Aaliya, but I did this to protect you both.”
“Protect us from what?”
Gabe sighs. “How much do you know of the English aristocracy?”
My fist squeezes tighter around my phone. “I don’t care about the damn English aristocracy. Tell me about Damien. How is he?”
“Like I said, he’s fine now. He woke up a few hours ago. He’s injured his head, but he will be fine. There’s a lot to tell you, Aaliya. Damien hasn’t told you entirely who he was…is.”
“What do you mean, Gabe? Don’t talk to me in riddles. Besides, I know who he was…” I shake my head. “…he is. I know about his life in England. So, stop trying to tell me something else.”
I’ve known Gabriel Westcott for as long as I’ve known Damien, which is five years now. He is Damien’s best friend, his business partner and was his best man at our wedding. Since Damien was an orphan, Gabe was also the only person to attend from Damien’s side. This last week he’s given me one excuse after the other regarding the silence from Damien and now he’s feeding me some nonsense about my husband that I refuse to believe.
“Damn it, Aaliya. You need to listen to me!” Gabe shouts. “Damien is the second son of the Duke of Kittridge. He returned here to England ten days ago not on a business trip, like he told you, but because his father and brother died in a car crash. He came for their funeral and because of his new responsibility. Damien is now the Duke of Kittridge.”
“No!” I whisper, dropping down on the bed. “That can’t be true. He would have told me. No! I don’t believe you.”
“Google it. Now! It’s K I T T R I D G E.”
He spells the word as I grab my laptop and open Google and type the letters. My eyes widen in shock. Oh my God! The cords in my neck strain as I stare at the images on the screen. There are dozens of pictures of Damien. He’s at a funeral. He’s with an older woman. Another picture shows him with his arm around a younger blonde woman, comforting her. Who are these women? What in the hell is going on? I read tweets on him.
“The new Duke of Kittridge”
“Missing son returns after five years”
“The Devil Lord is now the Devil Duke”
The Internet has the whole history of Damien; it knows things I’ve never known. My Damien is not Damien Alexander, as I’ve always known him; he is Damien Alexander Talbot, now the Duke of Kittridge.
“How…how is this possible?” My voice trembles. “How could I have not known?”
“I will explain it all to you, Aaliya. But first, you need to come to London as soon as you can. Can you organize to leave Rian with someone for a few days?”
“I’ll bring him with me. Damien will want to see him.”
“Aaliya,” Gabe lowers his tone and my heartbeat accelerates yet again, “he doesn’t remember you. He has no memory of the last five years of his life, which includes Rian and you.”
Did he just say that? No! It can’t be true. But I know to the core of my being that it is true. This is why my instincts have been roaring at me since the last few days. My stomach plummets, the hollowness spreading through every inch of my body. A whimper escapes my mouth and I press a hand on my lips to stop myself from screaming.
About the Author: Sapna Bhog is an author from India who writes contemporary and historical romance novels. As a self-proclaimed die-hard romantic, her books are filled with swoon-worthy heroes and feisty heroines who clash all the time, but do get their happy ever after. Sapna has always surrounded herself with books and when she is not writing she is reading. Originally from Dubai, she now lives in Western India with her husband, kids and a Siberian Husky. Sapna gave up a successful IT career and took a foray into writing and has never looked back since. Her favourite pastimes are reading, writing, traveling and shopping—not necessarily in that order. She loves to hear from readers.
Earth Arrested follows the story of Kethryn Miller and Neah, twins who didn’t know of each other’s existence. One lived a celebrity lifestyle, the other lived in a hidden underground city. The existence of twins is forbidden under Truce Law, and Neah’s escape from the hidden city brought humanity’s crimes to the attention of the aliens who were keeping Earth under tight control.
In Earth Arrested, the race is on to achieve space travel before the fleet of ships sitting on the edge of our solar system arrives. This fleet contains the Criterion leader, and she is coming to do what the first alien colonists failed to do: destroy all humanity.
Humanity can’t surrender to this new alien occupation. But our fragile planet also can’t take another war. Then there is an important factor that both humans and aliens are forgetting: there is a third side arming themselves for this coming war, and they have already lost everything.
If you like dystopian thrillers that turn conventional ideas about space exploration on their head, stories with twists and turns, and thought-provoking reads, then you’ll enjoy D L Richardson’s Earth Quarantined series.
World peace came with rules. We’ve just broken them.
Kethryn Miller is an award-winning actress, destined to rule State Seven of a unified Earth, but nothing will prepare her for the role she’ll take on when a strange woman who shouldn’t be alive turns up in the city, threatening to expose the lies that have kept peace on Earth for 200 years.
******
In the year 2055, millions of humans were wiped out by a deadly virus. Our desire and need to get off the planet and into space became our highest priority. However, before any ships could be launched, First Contact was made by an alien race called the Criterion. To prevent this deadly virus from getting into space, they placed Earth under quarantine. Then they herded us into cities so they could control our dying population and the planet’s resources. They saved us.
But they also rule over us. And we’ve let them because, for the past three hundred years, they have kept offering us the technology to get into space. Yet we’re still here on this dying planet.
The Criterion are lying to us.
What they don’t know is that we’re lying to them.
“If you like dystopian thrillers that turn conventional ideas about space exploration on their head, stories with twists and turns, and thought-provoking reads, then you’ll enjoy D L Richardson’s first book in the Earth Quarantined series” – BestThrillers.com
D L Richardson writes speculative fiction, which encompasses science fiction, supernatural fiction, and fantasy. She lives in Australia with her husband and dob, and when she’s not writing, she can be found wandering in her yard waging war on weeds, watching back-to-back episodes on Netflix, playing her piano or guitar, curled up on the couch reading a book, or walking the dog.
She is the author of the ‘Welcome to the Apocalypse’ series and ‘The Shivers Novellas’. She also conducts writing workshop and appears at Australian pop culture conventions as few times a year.
Abigail has always struggled with the voices. From the relentless tyranny a woman faces on an antebellum plantation to the unknown prison camps in America during World War II, our heroine discovers the past in a way that changes her future.
Moments from the past serve as guiding posts for the country’s growth, and also mark the transitions for Abigail’s own personal history. Her best friend, Margaret, partners with Abigail to discover the identity of the mysterious voices, while focusing on her passion and quest to become a United States senator.
Through it all, a serial killer torments the country, romance blossoms between people they meet during the journey, and long-buried secrets come to light in devastating ways. As elements twist, numbers align and spiritual powers connect, no one will be the same again.
Didi Oviatt is an intuitive soul. She’s a wife and mother first, with one son and one daughter. Her thirst to write was developed at an early age, and she never looked back. After digging down deep and getting in touch with her literary self, she’s writing mystery/thrillers like Search for Maylee, Justice for Belle, Aggravated Momentum, and Sketch, along with multiple short story collections. She’s collaborated with Kim Knight in an ongoing interactive short story anthology, The Suspenseful Collection. Most recently, she published her first romance novella titled Skinny Dippin’ which was originally released as a part of the highly appraised Anthology, Sinners and Saints. When Didi doesn’t have her nose buried in a book, she can be found enjoying a laid-back outdoorsy lifestyle. Time spent sleeping under the stars, hiking, fishing, and ATVing the back roads of beautiful mountain trails, and sun-bathing in the desert heat play an important part of her day to day lifestyle.
James is my given name, but most folks call me Jay. I live in New York City, grew up on Long Island, and graduated from Moravian College, an historic but small liberal arts school in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with a degree in English literature and minors in Education, Business and Spanish. After college, I accepted a technical writing position for a telecommunications company during Y2K and spent the last ~20 years building a career in technology & business operations in the retail, sports, media, hospitality, and entertainment industries. Throughout those years, I wrote short stories, poems, and various beginnings to the “Great American Novel,” but I was so focused on my career that writing became a hobby. In 2016, I committed to focusing my energies toward reinvigorating a second career in reading, writing, and publishing.
Rachel lives in constant fear that she will burst into flames. She can feel the heat building in her gut.
She keeps buckets of water under the bed. She keeps them to fend off the flames that her body may create.
Autocombustophobia. That’s what they say she has.
No one will believe Rachel when she explains that she spontaneously combusted once before. That’s why her body is covered in burns.
Rachel’s mother is the only one who knows what really happened to her. All she said was that it was an accident, before she disappeared leaving Rachel to live with her grandparents.
When Rachel becomes reunited with her estranged mother, she struggles to uncover the truth behind her injuries. As Rachel spends time with the mother she has never known, she is thrown into a strange world of paranormal obsession, spells, and sage burning.
Long buried family secrets are revealed and Rachel’s fear of Spontaneous Human Combustion becomes unmanageable.
There are some terrifying truths to uncover and a man on fire. He stands burning at the foot of her bed.
Jyvur Entropy writes horror and romance. She is a pessimist, a chaotic neutral, and a massive fan of Die Antwoord.
Combustion is her most well known work. It premiered on wattpad in 2016, where it went on to collect over 94,000 views, was featured twice by wattpad and longlisted for the 2018 Watty’s.
Jyvur knows everything about the Columbine massacre and buys a new bodice ripper every time she goes to the supermarket.
She is never seen without an iced coffee or yoga pants, because she’s about as basic as it gets.
She runs a moderately successful book blog and she has a baby youtube channel. You can find all her content and socials here: https://linktr.ee/jyvurentropy
Embrace of the Wild Inspired by Equestrian Explorer Isabella Bird by Linda Ballou Genre: Historical Fiction
“I have just dropped into the very place I have been seeking but in everything it exceeds all my dreams. “
Isabella Lucy Bird (1831-1904)
Some people live to travel; Isabella Lucy Bird traveled to live. Dare to saddle up with this equestrian explorer on her way to becoming the best-loved travel writer of her day. Set off on a voyage from England to the South Seas. Jump ship in Honolulu, then hop on board the Kilauea steaming its way to sleepy Hilo. Be captivated by the lavish beauty of the Sandwich Islands. Charge up the flank of a living volcano, ford roaring torrents on the way to Waipio Valley where the gods come close. Feel the loving touch of the healing hands of a Hawaiian elder and let go of chronic pain that has held you captive.
Invigorated from your stay in Hawai’i press on to ride solo in Colorado on a 600-mile mountain tour. Here you meet an unlikely soulmate in the form of renegade Rocky Mountain Jim. Convince him to guide you to the top of the loftiest peak in the Rocky Range, and try not to fall in love with him and the majesty of his realm. Know the wild abandon of giving rein to your mount with tears streaming, hair flying, and blood pumping. Set your spirit free with Isabella as she breaks through physical and social barriers to follow her dreams.
From my roots in Alaska I receive strength, centeredness and respect for the awful power of nature. Numerous adventure articles, essays on my website are set in my homeland. In Hawaii I found a spiritual awakening, sensuality and the heroine for my historical novel Wai-nani: A Voice from Old Hawaii. Lost Angel in Paradise, takes you day tripping with me to my favorite outdoor days in sun-splashed California. I share tips for “Wannabe” travel writers in GET GREAT TRIPS. I added Lost Angel Walkabout to my audio books for my armchair traveling friends in 2020. I just released of Embrace of the Wild an historical novel inspired by the life of equestrian explorer Isabella Bird.
Alexandria James was born in California, but raised all over the US due to being a child of the military. She loves to laugh, sing and write– when not spending precious time with her family. Alexandria lives in South Florida with her husband and two sons.
The man standing at the funeral in bubble-gum pink hair is P.J. Crowe. His career as a detective is in tatters – he’s facing dismissal, vilified by the press and his wife’s about to leave. Lying low in a small seaside town he spots a ‘Help Wanted’ ad in the kitchen of a local café. It offers him an escape from the public and his spiralling mental health – and it’s where Thea Farrell worked – until she was found dead at sea.
And herein lies the problem: Thea was an Olympic medallist, silver for swimming and Crowe’s burned-out synapses are starting to join the dots – it wasn’t his case, but his cop’s senses tell him that Thea wasn’t the drowning kind.
And the suspect may well be in the congregation.
A KIND OF DROWNING is a big departure for me both in subject and style. I put the main character, P. J. Crowe in a small seaside town, off the beaten track in the midst of a mental and professional crisis. He is isolated in a small town where a tragedy occurs, and despite everything he’s going through he’s not convinced it’s an accident.
For the technical aspects, I contacted Sue Procter at ThinkForensic in the UK. I sketched out my ‘crime / tragedy’ and within weeks, she was back with the science of what I was looking for. I built an entire chapter around this and sent it back for approval. A few tweaks and several rewrites later, Sue validated it. I now had a ‘hub’ around which the story would revolve.
I had my protagonist, I had my ‘incident’ (or supposed crime with the technical nous behind it), I had my location. Now I could tap into the key Lockdown themes of this Covid-19 Crisis: Isolation, mental health, and survival.
A KIND OF DROWNING is a noir novel – a Chandleresque, Ken Bruen, Hammett, and Spillane dark in its concept. I wanted the characters to grow through dialogue rather than actions and I wanted to stay clear of the technical and procedural jargon and let the story evolve through Crowe’s eyes.
I think its my best novel to date; a culmination of 14 years of writing that has finally come together in this book.
But I will let the reader decide on that.
A KIND OF DROWNING will be released in early May on Amazon & Kobo platforms
Sample chapter
“Where to, Boss?”
It was Crowe’s kind of ride, neither he nor the taxi driver spoke. The sporadic bursts from the Satnav punctuated the silence. Dublin’s suburbs gave way to the northbound motorway.
But long distances abhor a vacuum,
“I know you,” she said.
Crowe flicked his eyes across the laminated ID – the driver’s name was Abosede Akande O’Hare. He spied the small camera on the mirror behind a thick-beaded wooden rosary hanging from the mirror.
“I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure,” he replied.
“You look done in,” she said.
He drew his hand across the week long stubble then pulled it away; he studied it. The knuckles still had faint traces of bruising. He covered them with his other hand. Sometimes the tremors arrived unannounced. The scratches had healed in coarse diagonal lines. A faint indentation on his finger hinted where a wedding band used to be.
Crowe had gone twenty-four hours without sleep. He had the kind of sour hangover that felt like a vice squeezing in on either side of his skull.
The white lines of the road were hypnotic. A passing truck flicked its lights like a flashgun sending lightening forks across his prefrontal cortex.
A lot could change in a fortnight, he thought.
“You police?” asked Abosede.
“No,” Crowe replied.
Abosede made a clicking sound with her tongue, rolling the words “PJ, PJ, PJ..” like a rolodex.
She turned her flawless profile scanning him up and down. She saw a man in an unwashed fleece; a man whose entire existence was stuffed into pockets and bags.
“You look like police,” she murmured.
“It’s Gardai in this country,”
“Gardee. Guarding what?” she snorted.
Guarding what indeed, he thought.
“I’m paying you only to drive,” said Crowe.
The clicking continued, she mumbled something under her breath. It sounded like “Stronger air freshener,”
He couldn’t be sure.
The cab smelled exotic. A gold watch glowed on her ebony skin; its glass was covered in a faint meshwork of cracks.
“Not paying me enough,” she said.
Crowe slunk further into his seat.
Twelve junctions later, the northbound motorway siphoned off to a dual carriageway that dog-legged onto a secondary road. The silence stretched out to forever. The first signposts for his destination appeared.
“Well, don’t expect any sunshine in Roscarrig, man. The forecast for the summer is terrible,” said Abosede.
“Suits me, I’ve been told to rest,” said Crowe.
“You cannot rest in Dublin?”
“No-one seems to think so,” he paused, pressing his forehead against the window. The faint vibrations of the road coursed through his temples, “I thought I’d get away,”
“Why? The city is where the money is, the money is boss; it crisp, it nice,”
He closed his eyes,
“I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you,” he said.
“I do know you. Brutality, man. Brutality,” said Abosede.
Like her photo, her braids were piled gloriously high on her head.
“Roscarrig, thanks. No more talk or I will definitely kill you,” he replied.
Crowe’s gaze fell onto the glove compartment, an adhesive 3-D Jesus doled out a plastic benediction. Abosede glanced sideways at him,
“Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved,” she intoned,
“I never trust anyone who’s read just one book,” said Crowe.
The silence descended between them like a pall.
Dilapidated lines of greenhouses amid large tracts of grass, yellow gorse and seas of ragwort sailed past,
“Jacobaea Vulgaris,” he muttered.
He thought about Googling the word ragwort, but like his watch, the blood stained mobile phone was sealed tight and locked away in an evidence bag.
He folded his arms.
Abosede’s tongue started clicking again.
Two bedraggled roundabouts later, they passed a peeling, dirty reflective welcome sign that requested everyone to please drive slowly. The Satnav announced that they had reached their destination. They were on the narrow main street of Roscarrig town.
It was a town dismal and forgotten; out of time and out of luck, thought Crowe. The ragged end of nowhere.
My Peaceful Place. A coloring book for wives and brides with sage advice and fun ideas for couples. We all need a peaceful place at one time or another. A place to be alone and ponder our thoughts. Whether you are married or getting married, some days are just more stressful than others. We, as women, need time to think. To reflect. To regroup. Tuck this book into your purse and pull it out at the moments you need just a few minutes to yourself. Revel in the designs as you add color to them using your favorite medium. Read the sage advice from someone who has been happily married for 38 years – and counting! Then read the fun ideas for couples and let your mind wander as you plan how it will work for you. Weddings are beautiful and so is marriage. My Peaceful Place seeks to help you when you need to be refreshed and inspired.
Sue Young is a creative at heart. She founded her wedding invitation business in 2011 and eventually branched out into favors, signage, dessert buffets, and Day Of Wedding Coordination. She has helped numerous brides navigate the planning of their wedding. Her most notable client was partnering with The Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. She has now “retired” and lives with her husband in Sequim, Washington where she helps care for her aging in-laws. Believing that everyone has a gift and not being able to sit still, Sue has recently started her business, A Sweet Haven, where she helps others find their gift, hone it, and share their gift with others. Here she inspires, encourages, and teaches other women to be creative in their daily lives.
My Peaceful Place Coloring Book came about as a way of calming brides as they were planning for their wedding. She recently expanded this book to include wives with ideas for dates with their spouse as well as sage marriage advice that she has used in her 38 happy years of marriage (and counting!)
Traci Simmons has been fired from another job and must decide if it’s time to give up her home and start fresh in another town. But, when her elderly neighbor dies mysteriously, she is pulled into leading a crusade to save the neighbor’s urban farm and find the killer. Through her new and unexpected relationship with these invisible people, Traci faces her own insecurities to learn what home really means.
This is a continuation of the story of Traci Simmons. Her relationship with Officer Randall Wells unfolds and they embark on a new life together. As things get serious, someone from their past designs a scheme to ruin both of their lives. The suspense heats up as Randall becomes a target of the evil Charlotte Carter and it almost destroys his career. And, if that were not bad enough, his love and loyalty to Traci is put to the ultimate test.
With Traci in his corner, Milo has surmounted every challenge to become a rising star in Faucier County. His journey to success engenders hope to thousands of young people throughout the community. But when a cold case is reopened, it shatters everything he believes about himself and threatens to dismantle his relationships and his new life.
Barbara Howard is a “not-so-cozy” mystery and YA author of a dozen books, including her most recent trilogy, Finding Home Mystery Series; Final Harvest, Charlotte’s Revenge, and Milo’s Journey. Stories with drama without the trauma, crime without the grime. She is a first generation tech geek turned master gardener with a passion for fresh air, vegan cuisine, and tracing her roots. A big city girl with a small town heart, she returned to her family home in the Midwest after an extensive career as a Department of Defense Project Manager at the Pentagon and spends most of her time treasure hunting, spoiling her fur-babies, growing veggies and raising chickens.
She has also published a collection of books on food-related topics, food safety, and heirloom recipe cookbooks under the pen name, Arlene Lee.
Memberships/Affiliations: Mystery Writers of America (MWA), Sisters in Crime (SinC)
